Ingeniørmusikk - Møtet med elektroniske musikkinstrumenter i Norge på 1920- og 30-tallet

Sammendrag

The subject of this article is the new electronic music instruments that were developed in the 1920s and 1930s. More or less forgotten instruments with strange names like theremin, ondes martenot, trautonium and Neo-Bechstein-piano created new and previously unheard sounds. In particular, the article examines how these electronic instruments were introduced and perceived in Norway from the late 1920s and until the Second World War. Within which contexts were they presented, how did people react to them and to which degree did they succeed? The article concludes that engineers and radio enthusiasts were among those who showed most interest. The largest demonstration of the instruments took place at the Engineers Hall in Oslo during the Radio days in 1932, magazines for engineers and radio enthusiasts printed several articles on them, it was the engineer Georg Brochmann who through his books and articles introduced them to a wider audience and - finally - engineers, radio amateurs and other technically skilled people also constructed their own electronic music instruments. On the other hand, professional musicians and the cultural elites in general seem to have shown less interest. This was perhaps related to a broader scepticism towards modern technology